Jeff Zucker had been hailed as the best CEO since Ted Turner
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Jeff Zucher, the best thing to happen to CNN since Ted Turner, has abruptly resigned over a sexual affair with a colleague in a friendship lasting 20 years, including the period he was married to Caryn Nathanson until they divorced in 2019.
Allison Gollust, CNN Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, admitted to the affair, although Zucker did not refer to her by name in his resignation memo to staffers.
Turner, who founded CNN in 1980, was highly regarded by employees. Zucker became Worldwide President of the network in 2013 and all staffers respected him as the best boss since Turner relinquished control in 2000.
Zucker, 56, goes down in another cautionary tale men have failed to learn from since Bible times.
The two daughters of Lot drugged him to have sex with them (Genesis 19:30-38); Tamar, the daughter-in-law of Judah, planted herself on him to have sex with her after the death of her husband Er, who was Judah’s son (Genesis 38:1-30).
David wooed Bathsheba to commit adultery with him. Bathsheba consented; their sexual liaison was consensual (2 Samuel 11:1-5). Yet God punished David severely for it (2 Samuel 12:1-23; 15:7-37; 18:1-15; 19:8-15).
Famous men felled by lack of sexual control
Many men across the earth – in the Church and in the world – who fail to admit their weakness for women and who refuse to learn from the history of fallen men, have had their careers truncated or reputations tarnished by unlawful sexual affairs.
Recent famous male participants in fornication or extramarital sex or sex tape – some affairs initiated by men, some by women, some involving rape, others consensual – with damaging consequences include
- Boris Johnson – British Prime Minister
- Tony Blair – former British Prime Minister
- Bill Clinton – former United States President
- Donald Trump – former US President
- Prince Andrew – second son of the queen of England
- Eliot Splitzer – former New York Governor
- Andrew Cuomo – former New York Governor
- Bill Gates – Microsoft founder
- Roger Ailes – former Fox News CEO
- Weinstein Harvey – American film producer
- R. Kelly – American singer and songwriter
- Jacob Zuma – former South African President
They all engaged or were alleged to have engaged in fornication or adultery, both of which are sins before God and lead to hell if not repented (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Even former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a polygamist, is in a messy divorce from Jennifer his former wife who is publicly spilling the beans about their dispute.
Very often, men end up publicly carrying the can and the shame for immoral sex, including affairs initiated by women. Men get blamed for not controlling their sexual desire and for using their position to lure or force women into unlawful sex.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matthew 13:9 NKJV).
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Zucker quits CNN, Gollust stays
Gollust says she will remain with CNN. Zucker says he has no choice but to resign. Yet both the man and the woman admit publicly that their sexual affair is consensual.
The saga is reported below by the BBC:
Zucker said in a memo to colleagues that he was “wrong” to not report the workplace romantic relationship as required, per reporting by the BBC.
The relationship was discovered during an investigation into the conduct of fired CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.
Zucker is considered one of the most powerful media executives in the US.
Message to staff
In the message sent on Wednesday to the network’s staff and shared online by CNN media correspondent Brian Stelter, Zucker said he was asked about his consensual relationship with a colleague during an investigation into Cuomo’s time at CNN.
Cuomo was being investigated over efforts to help his politician brother, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, fight allegations of sexual harassment.
Zucker said he had worked with the colleague for two decades and that the relationship had “evolved in recent years”.
“I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t,” he said. “I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today.”
Zucker’s memo did not identify the colleague with whom he had a relationship but CNN named her as Allison Gollust, the network’s executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
“Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years,” she said in a statement quoted by Stelter on air. “Recently, our relationship changed during Covid. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time.”
Gollust was an executive at NBC Universal during Zucker’s time at that network as CEO [Chief Executive Officer].
In 2012, Gollust was named as communicators director for Andrew Cuomo. She joined CNN the following year after only four months in that role.
In her statement, she added that she intends to stay at the network. Both she and Zucker are divorced, the New York Times reported.
Zucker’s tenure
Zucker joined CNN in 2013. Under his leadership, it broke viewership records in 2020 and saw the most viewers in its history during January 2021 – partly as a result of the US Capitol riot on 6 January.
Since then viewership has gone down, falling nearly 90 per cent this January compared to the same time last year, according to Nielsen ratings.
At CNN, Zucker faced criticism from those who believed the network gave too much coverage to Trump, especially during the Republican presidential primary. Trump has also criticised what he saw as unfair coverage.
During his time at NBC, Zucker approved Donald Trump’s reality TV show “The Apprentice”.
Additional reporting by CNN:
Stunning announcement
CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker, the influential news executive who reshaped the iconic network, announced Wednesday morning that he has resigned from his position effective immediately.
Zucker’s stunning announcement came less than two months after he fired prime time anchor Chris Cuomo for improperly advising his brother, then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, about how to address sexual misconduct allegations.
“As part of the investigation into Chris Cuomo’s tenure at CNN, I was asked about a consensual relationship with my closest colleague, someone I have worked with for more than 20 years,” Zucker told employees in a memo.
“I acknowledged the relationship evolved in recent years. I was required to disclose it when it began but I didn’t. I was wrong. As a result, I am resigning today.”
Zucker did not name his colleague, but the relationship is with Allison Gollust, his key lieutenant for the last two decades. Gollust is remaining at CNN.
Zucker and Gollust began working together at NBC in 1998. They rose through the ranks at the network together, and when Zucker joined CNN, Gollust was among his first hires.
Just before coming to CNN Gollust had worked briefly as communications director for Andrew Cuomo. She is currently executive vice president and chief marketing officer at CNN.
In a statement of her own, Gollust said, “Jeff and I have been close friends and professional partners for over 20 years. Recently, our relationship changed during COVID. I regret that we didn’t disclose it at the right time.
“I’m incredibly proud of my time at CNN and look forward to continuing the great work we do everyday.”
Zucker and Gollust both divorced from their partners years ago. Rumors that their close working relationship had morphed into a romantic one have long been the subject of speculation and have occasionally surfaced in gossip columns.
The journalist Katie Couric, who once worked closely with Zucker, but later had a falling-out with him, even hinted at it in her tell-all memoir released last year.
Zucker forced out by WarnerMedia
News of Zucker’s resignation sent shockwaves inside CNN and across the industry. CNN employees had no idea what was coming before Zucker’s email landed in their inboxes shortly after 11 a.m. ET.
Zucker spoke with some of CNN’s top executives on Wednesday morning, shortly before he announced his departure. He indicated that he would have liked to stay on for a short period, to help with a smooth transition, but WarnerMedia wanted otherwise.
According to two people involved in the matter, Zucker was facing termination if he did not resign.
Underscoring just how unexpected the news was, some of Zucker’s direct reports were out of the office and traveling on Wednesday.
Kilar, who flew to New York to oversee the transition, stepped in to run the Wednesday meeting Zucker usually holds with his top executive team.
Kilar also plans to meet with staffers in Washington and Atlanta, a source said.
CNN going forward
WarnerMedia is in the process of merging with Discovery. Many media observers thought Zucker was in line for a promotion once that deal is complete.
That is not the only reason this is a pivotal time for the network: CNN plans to launch an ambitious streaming service, CNN+, in the spring, and it also needs to roll out a new 9 p.m. program to replace Cuomo.
In an email to staffers Wednesday afternoon, Jason Kilar, the CEO of CNN parent WarnerMedia, said three senior executives will lead CNN until the merger with Discovery is complete: Michael Bass, Amy Entelis, and Ken Jautz.
“I have full confidence that Michael, Amy and Ken, as interim heads for News, will provide the leadership this organization needs during this time of transition,” Kilar said, adding that employees will “hear more” from the three executives “in the coming days.”
Zucker, with Gollust on his leadership team, took over CNN in 2013, at a time when industry observers said the network was facing an identity crisis.
Zucker revamped the network’s programming. A veteran of NBC, where he climbed from a producer on the “Today” show to president of the entire network, Zucker brought an eye for news and talent.
He also brought a hands-on management style and gained the trust and respect of talent and staffers throughout the network.
In recent years, Zucker led the network as it faced sustained attacks from Trump and his supporters. Under Zucker, CNN adopted a “Facts First” slogan and approach to the news and was unrelenting in calling out Trump for his lies.
The approach turned Zucker into a villain for Trump, with the then-president lashing out at him during his years in office. Zucker also became a regular boogeyman in right-wing media, with Fox hosts viciously attacking him in prime time.
It was all evidence of Zucker’s larger-than-life status in the news business and influence over the broader discourse in American politics.
Fallout from Cuomo scandal
Zucker defended Chris Cuomo for the better part of a year while critics said the anchorman should have been benched or worse for what was then publicly known about how he’d advised his brother.
Zucker eventually fired Cuomo in early December, after further revelations about how the brothers worked together to combat the allegations against Andrew.
Before taking action, CNN retained Cravath, a white-shoe law firm, to review the Cuomo matter.
When Cuomo was fired, CNN said Cravath’s findings alone were “cause to terminate.” But the network also said it had received an allegation of sexual misconduct from a “former junior colleague” against Chris Cuomo.
Though Cuomo denied the allegation, a CNN spokesperson said at the time, “When new allegations came to us this week, we took them seriously, and saw no reason to delay taking immediate action.”
CNN rules
Cravath has continued its probe, according to sources familiar with the matter. One complicating factor is Cuomo’s ongoing legal battle with CNN, which is apparently why Zucker was questioned about his relationship with Gollust, one of the sources said.
WarnerMedia’s Standards of Business Conduct handbook says:
“Employees must not hire or supervise (directly or indirectly) someone with whom they have a personal relationship, and if you are in a position to influence the employment, advancement or hiring of someone with whom you have a personal relationship or a business they are associated with or have an interest in, you must inform the HR department in advance of taking any action.”